Christine Ferguson

It looks like the state's online health insurance marketplace kept two-thirds (71%) of enrollees from last year and gained a quarter more (about 5,000 new enrollees). So with total enrollments for 2015 at 22,910, HealthSource RI didn't lose a bunch of customers but didn't gain a whole lot either.

Governor-elect Gina Raimondo has replaced Christine Ferguson as the head of HealthSourceRI, replacing her with Anya Rader Wallack. RIPR reported December 23 how Raimondo was expected to make this change.

Raimondo did not explain the reason for the change in a statement. Outgoing Governor Lincoln Chafee created HealthSource, Rhode Island's version of Obamacare by executive order, and legislative leaders have not been huge fans of the program.

Governor-elect Gina Raimondo is expected to replace Christine Ferguson as the leader of HealthSourceRI, Rhode Island's version of Obamacare, RIPR has learned.

The leading candidate to replace Ferguson is Anya Rader Wallack, the president of Arrowhead Health Analytics in Fall River, Massachusetts, and a former policy director and deputy chief of staff for former Vermont governor Howard Dean. Rader Wallack declined comment when contacted by RIPR.

HealthSource RI director Christine Ferguson has penned an op-ed in the Providence Journal to plead her case for keeping the health insurance exchange in local hands. Her commentary comes days after a Projo editorial arguing the state should scrap its exchange.

Enrollment on the state’s health insurance marketplace Health Source R-I is going relatively smoothly. This is the second enrollment period since it opened last year.

Health Source RI spokeswoman Maria Tocco says there were some minor issues with the web site and the call center phones but they were addressed quickly. Wait times swelled over the weekend and some scheduled appointments for hours later.

Data on the number of individual and family enrollments so far are expected toward the end of this week.